EL-1DIP-007

NEC T&T WIRING CODE & DRAWINGS 2

UNIT 2 CONDUCTOR MATERIALS AND SIZES
Rationale
Why is it important for you to learn this skill?

Outcome
When you have completed this module, you will be able to:
Determine the conductors required for installations.
Objectives
1. Define specific terms that apply to the program.
2. Apply specific rules to determine conductor sizes using the appropriate tables and appendices.
3. Determine the allowable ampacity of a conductor given load current and
4. conditions of use.
5. Determine the allowable ampacity of flexible cords and equipment wire and conditions of use.
6. Identify neutral conductors and determine their size.
7. State the standards for conductor colours.
Resources
1. The Trinidad and Tobago electrical wiring code part 1 low voltage installations
(TTS 171: PART 1: 2015) produced by the Trinidad and Tobago bureau of standards (TTBS)
The low voltage codes are aligned to;
 The national fire protection agency (NFPA 70) National Electric Code (NEC 2011)
 And With permission from the British Standards Institution, BS 7617:2008 IET / IEE wiring
regulations seventeenth edition.
2. The Trinidad and Tobago electrical wiring code part 2 high voltage installations
(TTS 171: PART 2: 2002) produced by the Trinidad and Tobago bureau of standards (TTBS)

3. Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (T&TEC) wiring for lighting and power 8th edition 2005

Objective One
When you have completed this objective, you will be able to:
Define specific terms relating to (TTS 171: PART 1: 2015)
Definitions
Some terms used need to be reviewed in order that you understand what the code is talking about. To do
this, you need to understand the following definitions.

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Ampacity: The maximum current, in amperes, that a conductor can carry continuously under the
conditions of use without exceeding its temperature rating.

Neutral Conductor: conductor of a 3 phase 4 wire system or the conductor of a single phase 2-wire or 3-
wire system, which is grounded at the service equipment.
Conductor (of a core or cable): conducting medium consisting of a single wire or a group of wires in
contact with each other.
Insulation: suitable non conducting material enclosing, surrounding or supporting a conductor.
Grounding conductor: conductor used to connect equipment of a grounded circuit of a wiring system to
grounding electrode(s)

Conductors may be manufactured as a single solid wire or be stranded, that is, made of several small wires
twisted together. The two conductors in figure 2 have the same allowable ampacity, but the stranded
conductor is more flexible. These are also called single core or single / single cable

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Some of these may be bare, while others are insulated (Figure 3). A bonding conductor, for example, does
not always need insulation.

BARE
INSULATED

SINGLE DOUBLE ALUMINIUM CONDUCTOR STEEL REINFORCEMENT

ACSR

MULTI CORE
SERVICE CORD OIL RESISTANT OUTSIDE WEATHER
RESISTANT (SOOW)

Some conductors have a sheath (metal or plastic) covering a single

conductor or a group of insulated conductors (Figure 4). The sheaths
provide varying degrees of protection against corrosion or mechanical
damage and this allows different conductors to be used in different
environments. Armour and sheathing are designed for different
mechanical conditions and it is up to the user to install the correct cables.

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 RHINO ECC PVC FLAT CAT 6

NON-METALLIC SHEATHS

XLPE / PVC SWA

(CROSS LINKED POLYETHYLENE)

(STEEL WIRE ARMOUR)

CCW / CLX MICC / PYRO

Continuously Corrugated Welded MINERAL INSULATED
COPPER CLAD

Metal Clad Armoured

METAL SHEATS AMOR

Some types of insulation may look or feel different when comparing

conductors.

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  The conductor may need to be flexible
 Different colours are used to indicate what a conductor might be used for.
 Some insulation provides protection against damage from sun, rain and snow.
 Some insulation provides better protection against mechanical damage.

Specific conductor characteristics are required for specific applications in order that the installation is safe.

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Objective two
When you have completed this objective, you will be able to:
Apply specific rules to determine conductor sizes using the appropriate tables and appendices.
Conductors
When wiring electrical installations, it is important to realize that not all conductors serve the same purpose.
When selecting conductors you must consider their purpose, size, type and application. You must also
know the maximum conductor termination temperature of the equipment you connect to.

:
Unless otherwise noted all conductors in this and following modules are copper conductors.

Conductor and cable regulations SECTION 6 (TTS 171: PART 1: 2015)

The minimum size of a conductor depends upon its type and conductions of use. The termination
temperature of the equipment that the conductor gets connected to must also be observed for sizing
purposes.

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Objective three
When you complete this objective, you will be able to:
Determine the allowable ampacity of a conductor
Allowable Ampacity of Conductors
The following sections explain the allowable ampacity of conductors. The discussion topics are:
 Determining conductor allowable ampacity,

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  Overheating of conductors,
 Mutual heating of conductors,
 High ambient air temperature,
 Conductor termination temperature,
 Conductor termination temperature,
 Selecting a conductor sixe,
 Continuous and non-continuous loads,
 Ampacity correction factors and
 Ampacity correction factors.
Determining Conductor Allowable Ampacity
when finding a conductors ampacity, you must refer to Ampacity of wires and cables, but before you can
properly choose a conductor, you must observe the conditions in which this conductor must operate.
Conductors that have current running through them continuously develop more heat in total than W
conductors that are energized for brief periods of time. A conductor run in conduit with 25 others does not
have the same allowable current capacity as a conductor run with only two other conductors in a conduit. A
conductor run within a hot boiler room has a lower allowable current capacity than one run within an air
conditioned office. The amount of allowable current carrying capacity on a conductor is also determined by
the equipment termination temperature.
Overheating of Conductors
Heat is a problem for conductors. Heat increases resistance and overheating can damage the insulation on
the conductor or in extreme cases, it can melt the conductor
Mutual Heating of Conductors
Current- carrying conductors produce heat. The heat produced by each conductor in a conduit or cable
adds to the heat from each other conductor and result may be a damaging temperature. More conductors:
more heat. The insulation of each conductor has a maximum temperature rating and if this rating is
exceeded, the insulation could be damaged. Insulated conductors run in free air are affected in a similar
way when two or more are in contact with each other. As an example, think of the typical cable you have
supplying an overhead service to a dwelling or run overhead between two farm buildings. This is called
neutral supported cable and is sometimes referred to as triplex. It is suspended in free air, but the
conductors are in contact with each other.

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 Selecting a Conductor Size
REQUIREMENTS FOR COMPLIANCE

(T.T.B.S. Trinidad And Tobago Bureau of standards)

HEAD, APPLIANCE & SAFETY PRODUCTS UNIT
IMPLEMENTATION DIVISION

A cable must be labelled with

MARKING REQUIREMENTS EXAMPLES

1 “Electric Cable”

2 Voltage designation e.g. 600/100V

BS 6346 (AMOURED CABLES PVC)

BS 5467 (AMOURED CABLES THERMOSET XLPE)
3 Standard Number
BS 6004 (NON AMOURED CABLES PVC)
(BS- BRITISH STANDARD)

Brand Name or Trade mark or manufacturer’s

4 Manufacturer Identification
information

5 Number of cores, type and nominal area of conductor e.g. 4 x 25 or 4 x 25AL

6 Identification of Year of manufacture Date code, batch code

Product certification –
7 Mark of an approval organization
e.g. BASEC, UL, CSA, CCC

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Continuous and Non-

Continuous Loads
The length of time current flows in
a conductor affects the amount of
heat produced by the conductor
and therefore the temperature
around the conductor. A
continuous load on a circuit
generates more heat in enclosures
that contain its circuit components
(such as fuses and circuit
breakers) than a circuit that has a
load only for a short period of time.
The continuous loads can lead to
incorrect operation of these devices or unsafe temperature conditions. To deal with this, rules limit these
types of loads on circuits to 80% of the ampere rating of the circuit (where the conductor ampacities are
based upon circuits that have components not specifically marked for continuous operation 100% of their
circuit breaker or fuse rating.
Maximum Circuit Loading. What does all that mean? It means that if you have circuit No. 14 AWG
conductors on a 15 A circuit breaker and the breaker is marked for continuous operation at 80% or NOT
marked with a continuous operation rating, then the continuous load on that circuit can only be 12A
(15A * 80% = 12A)

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If your circuit breaker has a continuous operation rating of 100%, the load on the circuit could be 100%
(15A * 100% = 15A)
To determine if the load is continuous or non-continuous
Generally, loads are considered continuous.

COUNTING NEUTRAL CONDUCTORS

1. A neutral carries only the unbalanced current. Therefore you do not count it as a heat producing
conductor. The identified conductor in a 2 wire circuit is not neutral because it carries the same
current as the ungrounded (hot) conductors and must be counted as a heat producing conductor.
2.
3.

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Objective five
When you have finished this objective, you will be able to:
Identify neutral conductors and determine their size.
Neutral Conductors
On the job, the grey wire is often referred to as the neutral, according to TTS 171 or grounded circuit
conductor.
This section of the module attempts to show you the difference. It is very important to have a good
understanding of what a neutral conductor is and of its function in electrical circuits.
Size of neutral conductor
The neutral in general is the same size of the hot or live conductor for a circuit.
The neutral must be installed with the circuit conductors. Only one neutral can be installed under a screw
on the neutral bar at the panelboard.

The neutral conductor in

general is the same size
as the hot or live conductor
for a circuit. Note that only
one neutral conductor can
be installed under a screw
on the neutral bar at
the panel board.

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Objective Six
When you have completed this objective, you will be able to:
State the regulations for conductor colours.
Conductor Identification
Sometimes knowing the function of a wire can be critical. Using wires that all have the same colour can
sometimes lead to dangerous situations. Colours often help identify something, so it made sense to
establish a standard of colour identification to show the use of various conductors. Colour is the identifying
characteristic you use the majority of the time.

Conductor Colours

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Summary.
The discussion within the module about conductors and applying wiring code regulations for selecting
conductors is just and introduction. Progressively more in-depth studies of conductors and their application
in circuits are presented in the remaining periods.

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